I think I've mentioned more than once that in terms of skill, power and pace I was definitely NOT up there with my team mates. I was a fat, wonky knee'd Winger (mainly because at Winger you rarely passed which saved my team mates) however that's not to say I didn't have my good games.
One of these games was up at Cumbria, where for 70 minutes I played some of the best Rugby of my life in what was one of the most a gruelling games I've ever played in. What was even more amazing is that I wasn't even the best player on my team that day. In the last few minutes of the game I clashed knees with a huge prop forward who was trying to wipe his feet on my face. I went down like a sack of shit, and dragged the fat tosser with me. I couldn't get back up and rolled away in agony. My mates all thought I'd done my knee again and the game carried on. Fortunately I hadn't, although it did feel like someone had just took a sledgehammer to my kneecap. I hobbled about for the last few minutes and we won the game, we didn't realise until the referee told us we had won (we all thought we were behind). Fast forward two days, my knee is now completely black and I'm walking down the stairs backwards.
Saturday comes round and we're playing with a scratch 14, I'm playing in my usual position because we're short. I end up eating a load of painkillers and spent about twenty minutes in the physios room whilst she tries to manipulate my knee to bend.
We're playing against someones C team (their third team), they had a team in the NCL and the Premier as well. Now when you play against someones C team you come across a few players that have "passed their best days". A certain number of these players don't like the fact that you're still young and are able to muster a jog, these players then take it out on your face. For 80 minutes it was a scrap, our halfback ends up on the floor somehow getting nutted whilst he's on the deck! Naturally we are behind and don't have the fire power to fight back against guys who basically want to punch first tackle second.
But in the 65th minute something amazing happens, despite no longer being able to bend my left leg, I manage to hobble onto a pass from my centre and outpace the 40 year old winger I'm against and score a try in the corner. I'm frikking delirious, for the first time in 4 years I've actually outpaced someone and I've only got one leg.
Then something better happens, it happens again, (mainly due to my centre again making a great drive and pass). I slide in the corner in slow motion trying not to snap my leg and end up with three players landing on top of me. As I try and ungracefully get up with one leg, the other teams captain runs across.
"How the fuck has he just scored again, he's absolutely WANK"
At this point I turn back around "Yeah I know, and I can still score past you twats" thankfully they decided not to try and beat the living crap out of me as it quickly dawned on them I was right.
So remember this, no matter how slow you are, how much you can't pass, no matter how many times you get put on your arse ......never give up. Because somewhere out there is a player even shitter than you are.......
Thursday 25 August 2011
Monday 22 August 2011
Supporters
Its been two months since my last post, I could pretend its because I've had something far more important to do. Like going to the gym, or fixing the bathroom or a long list of other things I probably should have done by now. Actually its mainly because I'm a lazy git, and its took about 5 emails from people threatening me to make me take it up again Example-"If you don't rite another blog, Im gonna find you and make u eat ur shoes".
So to save me eating my £4.99 bargain trainers, here's my thought for the week. What would an amateur Rugby League match be like without our supporters? They travel with us, watch us get our heads kicked in and then tell us what we did wrong and how the ref was a blind git for the entire 3 hour coach ride back.
I personally think that supporters are the most dangerous people in the world, no matter what the size they are able to swing the match in your favour, or against you.
One such group of supporters was typically good at doing this, when I played for a team in Oldham. It was only my third or fourth game for them, and they were gearing up to play against my old club (to which my brother still played). I was away with the missus that weekend and gave the lads one piece of advice: "Don't run at the hooker".
The hooker was a lad who went by name of "Lomas" and he was a player who had been at my old club for quite a while. He was neither the biggest or fastest player on the pitch, but what he did have was an amazing tackling technique. I don't remember a match where Lomas did not put in three of four tackles that would make Hulk Hogan cry. Now when you've a guy like that on your side its quite comical, you watch the forward trundle it in........ Lomas takes about 2 steps forward and then ........."SNAP" as Lomas' shoulder would connect with his chest. Normally you'd hear this girlish scream (similar to one I did when I did my knee in) and they'd drop like a sack of shit. Nothing illegal just an incredible technique.
Now you think such advice would have been taken from a player who had been at the club for over five years. However it was not......
So Saturday afternoon I get a phone call from my Brother, who is literally pissing himself laughing. Apparently my new team had started very well and ran in two unanswered tries. But at that point the supporters had decided to start heckling Lomas who at the time was not having a good game. Apparently Lomas didn't like this and decided to go on a one man demolition mission. 5 minutes later three of my new team members are stretchered off and my Brother runs in a hat-trick of tries. I turned up to training the next week and spoke to my new team mates, who admitted they were on top until the supporters started taking piss...... Sadly it was not the supporters that got the crap beaten out of them but the entire forward line.
The next week we were playing the top of the league, and once again we started strongly running in a few tries we had them on the back foot. All of a sudden our "supporters" start up again, "He's shite that number 8, he's got no balls" and "This lot are wank, we could beat you with our eyes shut". Surprise, surprise the top of league team that we were bossing took this to heart and start pummelling the crap out of us. At 60 minutes in, we're barely holding onto the lead and I wandered across to our supporters "For fucks sake, stop winding them up and shut the hell up". Did it work? Did it bollocks.
One of our supporters were then sent off for heckling the referee and the club received a fine , oh and we also lost the game.
So if you ever find yourself watch an amateur game of Rugby and feel like heckling always think of this:
Would you say it to them if you were wearing the shirt?
So to save me eating my £4.99 bargain trainers, here's my thought for the week. What would an amateur Rugby League match be like without our supporters? They travel with us, watch us get our heads kicked in and then tell us what we did wrong and how the ref was a blind git for the entire 3 hour coach ride back.
I personally think that supporters are the most dangerous people in the world, no matter what the size they are able to swing the match in your favour, or against you.
One such group of supporters was typically good at doing this, when I played for a team in Oldham. It was only my third or fourth game for them, and they were gearing up to play against my old club (to which my brother still played). I was away with the missus that weekend and gave the lads one piece of advice: "Don't run at the hooker".
The hooker was a lad who went by name of "Lomas" and he was a player who had been at my old club for quite a while. He was neither the biggest or fastest player on the pitch, but what he did have was an amazing tackling technique. I don't remember a match where Lomas did not put in three of four tackles that would make Hulk Hogan cry. Now when you've a guy like that on your side its quite comical, you watch the forward trundle it in........ Lomas takes about 2 steps forward and then ........."SNAP" as Lomas' shoulder would connect with his chest. Normally you'd hear this girlish scream (similar to one I did when I did my knee in) and they'd drop like a sack of shit. Nothing illegal just an incredible technique.
Now you think such advice would have been taken from a player who had been at the club for over five years. However it was not......
So Saturday afternoon I get a phone call from my Brother, who is literally pissing himself laughing. Apparently my new team had started very well and ran in two unanswered tries. But at that point the supporters had decided to start heckling Lomas who at the time was not having a good game. Apparently Lomas didn't like this and decided to go on a one man demolition mission. 5 minutes later three of my new team members are stretchered off and my Brother runs in a hat-trick of tries. I turned up to training the next week and spoke to my new team mates, who admitted they were on top until the supporters started taking piss...... Sadly it was not the supporters that got the crap beaten out of them but the entire forward line.
The next week we were playing the top of the league, and once again we started strongly running in a few tries we had them on the back foot. All of a sudden our "supporters" start up again, "He's shite that number 8, he's got no balls" and "This lot are wank, we could beat you with our eyes shut". Surprise, surprise the top of league team that we were bossing took this to heart and start pummelling the crap out of us. At 60 minutes in, we're barely holding onto the lead and I wandered across to our supporters "For fucks sake, stop winding them up and shut the hell up". Did it work? Did it bollocks.
One of our supporters were then sent off for heckling the referee and the club received a fine , oh and we also lost the game.
So if you ever find yourself watch an amateur game of Rugby and feel like heckling always think of this:
Would you say it to them if you were wearing the shirt?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)